Wind Power Leads U.S. Midwest 2017 Project Kickoffs

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A growing demand for power generation and infrastructure is propelling most of the planned construction kickoffs in the U.S. Midwest region in 2017, with windfarms poised to play a starring role. Industrial Info is tracking $26.04 billion in active projects set to begin construction in the U.S. Midwest in 2017, more than 75% of which are attributed to just four industries: Power, Industrial Manufacturing, Petroleum Refining, and Pharmaceutical & Biotech.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing active projects scheduled to kick off in 2017 in the U.S. Midwest region, by industry.

The Midwest region includes Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska and South Dakota.

The Power Industry leads all others with more than $10.7 billion in projects, about $8.3 billion of which are attributed to windfarms that are in various stages of development. These include Apex Clean Energy's (Charlottesville, Virginia) $580 million Upland Prairie Windfarm in Spencer, Iowa, and Aksamit Resource Management's (Houston, Texas) $525 million Milligan I Windfarm in Swanton, Nebraska. As designed, Upland Prairie would generate 300 megawatts (MW) from 140-150 wind turbine generators; Milligan I would generate the same amount from 150 generators, each with a capacity of 2 MW. Both projects still are in their planning phases, where plenty of factors could increase, decrease or eliminate the expected spending. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on the Upland Prairie and Milligan I proposals.

The Industrial Manufacturing Industry is in a distant second place with about $3.27 billion worth of projects, more than half of which is attributed to the single largest project set to begin construction in 2017: Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority's $1.79 billion Southwest Light Rail Expansion in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Local officials hope to expand the Green Line by building 15.8 miles of double-track, light rail line from downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie, including 17 stations. For more details, such as current schedules and contractor contact information, see Industrial Info's project report.

The Petroleum Refining Industry boasts $2.84 billion in planned kickoffs, including Flint Hills Resources Limited Partnership's (Saint Paul, Minnesota) $500 million delayed coker unit replacement at the Pine Bend Refinery in Rosemont, Minnesota. Flint Hills, a subsidiary of Koch Industries (Wichita, Kansas), plans to replace two delayed cokers, each with a capacity of 16,500 BBL/d, with a new coker to reduce energy consumption and emissions. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

The Pharmaceutical & Biotech industry is only narrowly behind, with $2.79 billion in projected kickoffs, the largest of which is Oxford Companies LLC's (Ann Arbor, Michigan) proposed, $1.3 billion Oxford On The Blue Biotech Park in Kansas City, Missouri. The company hopes to construct multiple buildings, totaling about 4 million square feet, dedicated to the study of life sciences, biotechnology and other technology-related disciplines. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

More than three-quarters of the region's total investment value (TIV)--$20.68 billion--is related to 426 projects that are now in the planning stages. The region also has 53 projects worth more than $4.6 billion in the engineering stages, while 362 projects worth about $756 million are maintenance-related projects.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.